


Hello Journal

by iliveatlast



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Child Abuse, Gen, Neglect, Pre-Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-15
Updated: 2014-01-15
Packaged: 2018-01-08 19:54:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1136716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iliveatlast/pseuds/iliveatlast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is our favrit family tradition. I do not have a favrit family tradition because I do not have a family. Signed, Harry Potter. Harry Potter's third form journal. A peek at pre-Hogwarts life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. September

# WRITING JOURNAL 

HARRY POTTER

CLASS 3C

DO NOT TOUCH

(dudley that means you)

6 September 1988

Hello jornal my name is Harry Potter I am eyt My birthday is July 31 I am in Mr Crossley class I live in Little Whinging I do not no my mums name I do not no my dads name they are dead I do not have bruthers I do not have sisters they are not dead I just do not have them I have a pet he is a spider I like food I like outside I do not like my cosin I wish my parents were not dead sind Harry Potter

_Feel free to add some more detail when answering questions, Harry! For example; are there any foods you like more than others? Any foods you don't like? What sort of spider is your pet? Does it have a name? What do you like about the outside? Remember your punctuation-at the end of every sentence!_

_Spelling: Journal, Eight, Signed, Cousin, Know, Brothers. Write three times for next class._

9 September 1988

Hello jornal journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is this year I would like. This year I would like to get tall. Because I am a runt. If I were tall I cood climb trees better. And hide there. And I cood scare people. So they wod not hurt me. Because I wod be big. But I wod bump my head on my seeling if I were too tall. So just a little more taller. So I cood not be the runt. And this year I wod like to be smarter. Because I am stupid. If I were smarter I cood rit better journals. And remember ponkyton. And spell rit. And then I cood get good marks. And get a job when I am old. Because if I am stupid I will not get a job. And then I will be a burden. And be hungry. And before school this year I would like not to be in Dudleys class. Because he is mean. And then school this year I am not in Dudleys class. And so this year I would like school already. Signed Harry Potter.

_See my notes-you do not need to phrase everything with the beginning of the prompt. Your punctuation is much better! I like your journal entry very much, except you should never call yourself stupid-you are very smart!_

_Spelling: Right, Write, Would, Ceiling, Punctuation (that one is tricky!), Could. Write three times for next class._

13 September 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is living on a farm. Living on a farm would be nice. There would be lots of outside there. I could have a pet. I would like a pet. Because my spider got skwished. I could have a hors to ride. I could name my hors Litning. Because it would be so fast. It would be black. And I would brush its main. So it would have good hair. And not bad hair. Litning would take me lots of places. Outside it would be sunny. And I could have other animals. And take care of them. I could have chikens. I would not eat them. I would feed them. I would feed them breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. I would not keep them in a coop. That is mean. They could have a room. I would give them all names. I would not call them chiken. Litning can have a room to. I would not make him do the weding. I would do the weding for him. Because Litning would be my frend. I would like to live on a farm. But I live in a house. Signed Harry Potter.

_Very creative, Harry! I am sorry to hear about your spider. Maybe when you are older you can live on a farm and have lots of pets!_

_Spelling: Squished, Horse, Lightning, Mane, Chickens, Weeding, Friend. Write three times for next class._

16 September 1988

Hello journal. Today we do not have a prompt. I do not like that. I like the prompt. Today we have to write about our feelings. Or what we are thinking. Or what we will do over the week end. But I do not think. And I do not feel. So I have no things to write. Except maybe my stumack feels. Because it is hungry. And wants bred. Signed Harry Potter.

_Everyone thinks and feels, Harry! Please write a little more next time!_

_Spelling: Stomach, Bread. Write three times for next class._

20 September 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt yay. Our prompt is if I was a color. If I was a color I would be black. Because my hair is very black. And at nit its very black. Because the lit is off. I like the black. Because then I do not see. And can fall asleep. And in the morning I can pretend I am asleep. And I can pretend I am dreaming. Because it is so black. My shoes are black to. And they are new. Because my school shoes got lost. They got lost in the pownd. And I had to get new ones. Black is a good color. Because you can hide. Because it is also the color of lickrish. And I had that once. And it tasted good. Dudley does not eat lickrish. So I got to eat it. Black is the only color I draw with. Because all my pens are black. My glasses are black. But not the glass part. But I still like black. Signed Harry Potter.

_Very good, Harry! Remember what we said in class about not starting sentences with 'and,' 'because,' or 'but.'_

_Spelling: Night, Light, Pond, Licorice. Write three times for next class._

23 September 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt but only a pretend one. Our prompt is our reading group book. We have to write what it is about what we like what we do not. My reading group is red. My reading group book is called the indian in the cupboard. It is about a boy named Omri. His cupboard is magic. It brings his toys to life. He puts his toy indian in and Little Bear comes out. Little Bear is his friend. Little Bear is bossy to but he likes Omri and Omri likes him. Omri has a real friend to named Patrick and Patrick puts his toy cowboy in and Boon comes out. Omri loses his cupboard key and Boon gets hurt by Little Bear and almost dies. They find the cupboard key thow and then Boon gets better because Tommy the soldier comes and fixes him. Then they all have to go home and Omri gives his mum his key so they can stay in their home where they belong. There is lots more but I do not have room. I like this book because I like Omri. I like Little Bear to even if he is bossy because he and Omri are like brothers. I wish my cupboard was magic but it is not. I wish I had toys like Omris even if they were not alive. I would like them most if they were alive thow because then I could have friends and I would feed them and keep them safe. I did not like that Omris friends went back at the end but I would not like if if I had a nice home and a cupboard took it away so Omri was good to put them back but it is sad still. I would only get sad toys who wanted to live with me and be my friend. I like Tommy the soldier the best I wish he lived in my cupboard and could come help me when I was hurt and be my friend even if my cupboard is not magic maybe he would not mind living there. Signed Harry Potter.

_Remember we capitalize and underline book titles, Harry! I am glad you liked the book-did you know there is a sequel called 'Return of the Indian?' See me after class if you would like to borrow it._

_Spelling: Though, Boone. Write three times for next class._

27 September 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is our favrit family tradition. I do not have a favrit family tradition because I do not have a family. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Harry - please come speak to me after class. Even though your parents are gone, that does not meant that your guardians do not love you very much, or that you are not a member of their family. I know questions like this must be very hard for you, but please try to write more next time._

_Spelling: Favorite. Write three times for next class._

30 September 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is what would grow in my garden. What would grow in my garden is weeds. I would let them grow and never weed them. It would be okay because maybe weeds are nice and it is to much work to pull them so I would let them be there. Dandylions are a weed we learned and I like dandylions so there weeds are not all bad and it is okay it they stay in my garden. I would not grow pettunyas but maybe I would grow leelys because my ant hates leelys but it would be my garden. I would have a big pool in my garden so that I could swim if I got to hot and I could keep a pet there to and he could drink from the pool whenever he was thursty and I could to but I would not be thursty because it would be my garden. Maybe it would be a horse or maybe it would be a dog but the nicest dog who never bites or maybe a turtle who could live in the pool. I would name the turtle Tommy like the soldier and if I had a dog I would name it Little Bear and they would be my friends like my horse Lightning. That would be a better garden.

_Your garden sounds like a lot of fun, Harry, but remember we were talking about what would grow in our garden, not just what we would have there! Lilies are lovely, though, and so are dandelions. Your drawing of your garden is very nice._

_Spelling: Aunt, Dandelions, Petunias, Lilies, Thirsty. Write three times for next class._

Harry Potter

Class 3C

Spelling Homework

1 October 1988

Copy out your journal words, and find five new words from home to bring in to learn to spell next week.

Journal Words

aunt aunt aunt

dandelions dandelions dandelions

petunias petunias petunias

lilies lilies lilies

thirsty thirsty thirsty

Class Words

marmylad

tomytos

sossig

horuble

orfinig


	2. October

3 October 1988

Hello journal. Today we have not got a prompt agen. We are writting about what ever we want but I want a prompt. I do not have anything nice to write about without the prompt because I am boring. My brain is scard. Today we had to change the calunder by the bord. It said September but September finished so now it says October. October is fun the spell. We lerned to spell it this morning. We lerned to spell a lot this morning. I do not like lots of spelling but I like to spell October. I am bad at spelling and at punktutaton because I am dumb. Dudley plays a game where I have to spell and when I spell wrong he hits but his spelling is badder than mine so that is not the baddest game. I do not like to play with Dudley. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Please don't call yourself dumb or boring-I think you are very interesting and I enjoy reading your journal. Is Dudley a school friend? Hitting is not all right. Please see me after class._

_Spelling: Again, Writing, Scared, Calendar, Board, Learned, Punctuation. Write three times for next class._

6 October 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is what if day was only 18 ours? We learned day is 24 ours so if it were 18 it would be shorter. That means that I would not be awake as long wich is okay because sometimes I like to be asleep because sometimes I dream. We are at school 8 hours we learned and we are spost to sleep 8 hours so I would only have 2 hours left and that would be nice. I could sweep steps and set the table and help with dinner and then go just to sleep. That would not be bad that would be fun. Signed, Harry Potter.

Hello Mr Crossley. Please let us always have prompts. I do not like not having prompts. I am not good at journal when we have no prompts. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Good math, Harry! It is very thoughtful of you to help out with dinner even if you wouldn't have much free time! I know you like prompts, but sometimes it is nice to just get to write whatever is on our mind. Don't let it make you scared! Next time, just let yourself write and see what happens. You might surprise yourself!_

_Spelling: Hours, Which, Supposed. Write three times for next class._

11 October 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is if dinosaurs still existed. If dinosaurs still existed I would have a pet dinosaur. It does not have to be a trex but it should be big and scary but only to other people. It should be nice to me and let me ride its back and scare bad people away. It could even be a brantsaurs like in Mr Crossleys book. I could ride his neck like a slide and he could step on people and smush them. I would feed him leafs from the garden and sossig and bacon and whatever he wanted. I would feed him whenever he was hungry. His name would be Necky and he would be my friend. I would always call him Necky it is rude not to call people by their names and it hurts their feelings so I would always call him his name and not dinosaur. Necky would be too big to fit in a cupboard or in front of the stove or even the sitting room. He would not fit in the house. We would live outside together. It would be very nice to have a dinosaur now I am sad they are egstink. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Wow, Harry, what a creative response! Your dinosaur sounds like a great pet, but it would be scary if he stepped on people!_

_Spelling: Sausage, leaves, brontosaurus, T-rex, extinct. Write three times for next class._

14 October 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is what is my favorite time of day. My favorite time of day is night for lots of reasons. It is nice to be asleep sometimes because I dream nice things. At night I am alone and no one bothers me and I can lay down and not do anything. Sometimes if I am kwiyt I can sneak to the kitchen when everyone is asleep and have some water and bread or sometimes the leftovers if there are lots of them. Sometimes I can not get out though and then that is sometimes hard because I am hungry but I like being hungry alone more than being hungry with Dudley. Sometimes at night I get outside and I can see the stars which are brit and far away and Miss Pierce last year said stars have names and storys but I do not know them so sometimes I just look and it is nice to see them. The north star is the one that leads you home when you are lost we learned last year but I do not know which it is so I can not find my way but one day I will find it and that will be good. This is why I like night. Signed, Harry.

_You should eat more at dinner so you won't be so hungry, Harry! Stars are beautiful-there is a book in the class library about stars, you should look and see if you can learn any of the stories about them!_

_Spelling: Quiet, Stories, Bright. Write three times for next class._

18 October 1988

Hello journal. Today we have no prompt again. I remember what Mr Crossley said though so now I will just write and see what happens but I do not know what will happen only words on the paper but I will try because Mr Crossley is nice to me sometimes. I like class this year a lot more than last year with Miss Pierce because she did not like me and Dudley was there and I did not like that because he sat at my table at first and would pinch but then he said I pinched him but I did not because that would be stupid but I got in trouble and was moved and had to sit with Piers which is almost as bad and that was not fun. This year I sit at a table with Sanjeev who is new and from India and his mother makes him food that is spisy for lunch and once he tried to share but it hurt my mouth. I wish I had spisy food all the time then no one would take it. Dudley has not hit Sanjeev yet because we are only table partners in class and not real friends but if Dudley were not here Sanjeev might be my real friend if I tried hard. Laura sits on my other side and she would not be my friend because she is afraid of Dudley and she thinks I smell but she does not pinch or break my glasses so I do not mind sharing a table with her. She is in my reading group which is red we are the best readers. Last year I was not good at reading because Dudley does not like to read but this year I am very good because Dudley cannot tell. We are reading a new book which is charlie and the choclate factory. I like Charlie and his grandpa but we are not done yet so I hope they are safe and nothing bad happens to them. I have to keep my book at school because it will get hurt if I do not but sometimes I wish I could take it home and read it before bed because then I would finish faster. I am almost done though that will be good. This is my writing without a prompt but it is boring and I like prompts better still. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Thank you for trying to write more, even without a prompt! This is not boring at all, and very interesting. I am glad you are liking class this term-I like having you here! Don't let Dudley scare you-if you want to be friends with Sanjeev, you should ask Sanjeev to be friends. And you are allowed to bring your reading books home with you, Harry!_

_Spelling: Spicy, Chocolate. Write three times for next class._

21 October 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is where do I live and who do I live with. I live in a house but it is not mine it belongs to the Dursleys. The house is 4 Privit Drive. I live with the Dursleys which is my ant uncl cousin and there are also spiders but my best pet one got squished so he does not live with me there anymore since he is dead. My uncl makes drils and my ant cleans the house and my cousin is eight. I used to have a mum and dad but they died when I was a baby or I would live with them in our own house which would belong to us. We would live very far away and only visit sometimes. I could have lots of pets spiders horses chickens dogs cats fish turtles dinosaurs any kind because it would be my house to. My dad would not make drils and my mum would pick me up from school every day and my room would have windows and big walls and stars on the ceiling. It would be okay if they did not have money or a very nice house or jobs because we would live together and that would be better than anything. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Very nice, Harry, but not technically the assignment. We were writing about our real lives today. But this is very lovely._

_Spelling: Uncle, Aunt, Drills, Privet. Write three times for next class._

28 October 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a pretend prompt. We are talking about our reading group books again. I finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I liked it very much. I liked Charlie best of all he is poor but his family is nice he has lots of them to grandparents and parents. He gets chocolate once a year on his birthday and one year his chocolate has a golden ticket and he gets to go to the factory where Willy Wonka makes it all and he goes with his grandpa and it is filled with secrets and inventins and oompaloompas. There are other kids to but they are bad and they get punished by squirrels and chocolate rivers and gum and the telly for being bad and Charlie gets to stay in the factory and is not poor and gets to make chocolate and sweets all the time and is never hungry and gets to bring his family. I like Charlie a lot. If I had chocolate I would eat it like him and keep it in a box and make it last. I do not like Agustis or Veruca they are spoiled and fat and greedy and that is why I liked it when they got punished and I liked that even though they were really bad they did not get hurt when they got punished they just got what they deserved which is good. I liked the sweets in the book to but it made me hungry to read it sometimes. I wish I had the chewing gum that is a hole dinner I would save and save and buy a pack and have it whenever I am hungry. Or an everlasting gobstaper to. I wish I lived in the chocolate factory with Willy Wonka and got to invent all day and never go home. Signed, Harry Potter.

_I am glad you liked the book, Harry! Roald Dahl has a lot of books that you might like that we have in our class library; maybe you should pick one of those for your free reading book next! Remember to underline book titles!_

_Spelling: Augustus, Whole, Gobstopper, Invention. Write three times for next class._


	3. November

1 November 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is what if all the roads were rivers. If all the roads were rivers I would be a little fritend because I cannot swim. But maybe I could learn to swim and then I could swim far away on the river because maybe swiming does not make you tired like walking does. I could swim to the ocean and then I could swim across the ocean to America or France and if the roads were rivers there I could swim all through them until I found a nice place to live. I would make friends with all the fish I met and we could maybe all live together if a fish family liked me enough to adopd me. I could be like a mermad. Or I could make a boat from the shed with a saw and then I could sail all the way to America or India where Sanjeev is from and then I would break my boat and sink it so I would have to stay there. Signed, Harry Potter.

_You sure are ready to go traveling! Don't you think we'd miss you if you were gone? Very creative, well done._

_Spelling: Frightened, Swimming, Adopt, Mermaid. Write three times for next class._

4 November 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. It is Guy Fawkes. Tomorrow is Guy Fawkes day. Guy Fawkes was bad because he wanted to blow up the parlyment but he was a worthles person and so he did not do it right so now we light bonfires and fireworks to remember like the poem Mr Crossley read us. My uncle is taking Dudley to the bonfire but my aunt does not like the noise or mess and I have to stay with her so I can not see the bonfire or the guy my uncle made with Dudley and Piers. They said I look like a guy and thats why I am not allowed to go because I would get burned alive. I do not look like his guy though because his is just a bag stuffed with my old clothes around a piece of wood from the shed and I could make a better guy if I were allowed. Dudley made me give him my lunch ticket for the guy since I had no money and now I am hungry but that is not to do with Guy Fawkes. I think he is sad because he is a failer and that hurts so maybe he is sorry and just wanted to do it right and did not want to hurt anyone. I do not want to go to the bonfire, but if I did I think it would be pretty. Signed, Harry.

_Harry - is Dudley your cousin? Come speak with me. You do not look like a guy, and I am sure if you asked your uncle he would take you along and you most certainly would not get burned alive. If you ever lose your lunch ticket again, you must tell me immediately so we can get you something to eat._

_Spelling: Parliament, Worthless, Failure. Write three times for next class._

8 November 1988

Hello journal. I am not writing anything today because Mr Crossley said he would show them to our parents on parent night next week and I have no parents and I do not want him to show this to my aunt and uncle because I will be in trouble. Signed, Harry.

_Harry - come speak with me. If you really want your privacy, we can arrange something. I would also like a make-up journal entry for 8 November, please. This is not acceptable._

11 November 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is Rememberense Day. Today is Rememberense Day and we all got red flowers at assembly to remember the soldiers from the war 70 years ago. It was a very bad war and in the poem Mr. Crossley read us there were red flowers which is why we got the flowers to remember us about the sad soldiers like Tommy in The Indian In The Cupboard. In R.E. we prayed for them, but we do not have Mr Crossley for R.E., we only have him for core classes not for R.E. or PSHE. Mr Crossley is cross with me because I did not do my journal and I am in trouble. I cannot go to outside break today and have to stay in and write a new journal for him but this is not about the soldiers. I feel sad thinking about the war because Tommy from the book fought in it and he was my favorite character because he came and he helped Little Bear and Boone and Omri but I read the beginning of the Return Of The Indian and Tommy died in the war and that is not fair because he was helping people when they were hurt and now there is no one to help the hurt people. So I stopped reading that book because Tommy was dead and Omri lied in his essay because it was not pretend like he said it was real. And the war was real and it killed Tommy so I am very sad. Signed, Harry Potter.

11 November 1988 - Break Time

Hello journal. I have no prompt because I have been bad and so I do not get nice things like prompts. I do not like to be bad but I am bad very often. But Mr Crossley said he would not show my journal to my aunt and uncle so at least they will not know I am bad about them and Dudley at school. I wish I had a prompt like I am sorry Mr Crossley because I am sorry and I do not want him to not like me anymore and be like Miss Pierce because then he wont let me read the books from the class library anymore and he will put me in the violet reading group which is the one that does not read any nice books and Dudley's friend Malcom is there and he will not let me read anything anyway and will tell Dudley on me all the time. If Mr Crossley were not mad at me then I would not mind being kept in for break even though it means I do not get to go outside which I like a lot because at least Dudley cant get in here so it is safe and I like to write in my journal but not without prompts and not when I think Uncle Vernin will read it. Signed, Harry Potter.

Hello Mr Crossley. I am very sorry I disobeyed and did not do my work and am ungraitfel. I will be good now I promise I will try. Signed, Harry Potter.

_It's all right, Harry. I am sorry that Tommy in your book died - that is very sad, and you are a very smart and sensitive boy to connect him with our Remembrance Day ceremonies._

_Spelling: Remembrance, Malcolm, Vernon, Ungrateful. Write three times for next class._

15 November 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is life as a germ. Life as a germ would be nice maybe. No one would like you because you were a germ and made people ill but you would be very small and no one could see you. No one could kill you to because no one knows how to cure some germs like for colds. And you could not get sick either because you are a germ and you can not make yourself sick. People would stay away from you in case you got them sick and that would be nice because they would leave you alone and I would like that. You could be in places no one else has gone before to because you are so small and you would be in peoples noses and scabs and things so you could infect them and you could see things no one else could and that would make you important. I think I would like to be a germ. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Very nice, Harry - but being a germ sounds lonely!_

_Spelling: None! Very good!_

18 November 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is pretend there is no such thing as television. I do not watch telly at home so I do not think my life would be that differant. Except Dudley would not have telly either because it would not eksist, and that would be very differant because he loves telly more than anything. He has a telly in his room and he watches in the sitting room and sometimes he gets supper in front of it. If he had no telly he would throw the biggest tantrem and break everything. Maybe it would be so big that Uncle Vernon would have to punish him because he had been bad. Or maybe without telly Dudley would have to play with me more and would have been my friend and would have been nice to me. I do not think this could ever happen but in a world without telly maybe it could. Signed, Harry Potter.

_It sounds like you would like to be friends with Dudley. Perhaps you should give him a second chance? Careful not to slip back into starting sentences with words like 'and,' 'or,' or 'So!'_

_Spelling: Different, exist, tantrum_

22 November 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a pretend prompt so we can talk about our new book. My reading group book is The Boxcar Children. It is an American book and is very good. We picked it from the class library and I wanted to read James And The Giant Peach but I am glad we read this one to maybe. It is about four children who are orphans named Benny Violet Jessie and Henry and they run away because they are going to have to live with their mean grandfather. They stay in a bakery one time which is nice but the lady who runs it wants to send Benny to an orphanage because he is to little to work which he is not because he is six but so they run away and find a boxcar in the woods and live in it but Violet gets sick and they need help and then they find the old grandfather and he isnt mean he is nice he gave Henry a silver cup and has been looking for them to take care of them and he brings them the boxcar and takes them to his home and Violet gets better. I liked when they were living in the boxcar and taking care of themself because they were safe and having fun and Benny didnt have to go to the orphanage but I didnt like how they went with the grandfather at the end because how do they know he will stay nice? They should have gone but not let him move the boxcar so they could always go back someplace safe if he really is mean and says bad things about their mum and hits. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Don't worry, their grandfather really is nice! We have some of the Boxcar Children's other adventures in our class library, if you want to see! Maybe next time you can pick the book for your reading group. Please remember about underlining book titles!_

_Spelling: Themselves, Didn't, Can't, Isn't. Write three times for next class._

25 November 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is our favorite hobby. I did not know what a hobby was but Mr Crossley says it is something you do for fun on weekends. My hobbys are reading books for reading group and doing maths and having outside break but I do not do this on the weekend. On the weekend sometimes I am outside but I am not doing hobbys I am doing chores which are not fun to do. One chore is fun something though which is sweeping. I like to sweep because it is not hard and it is fun to make big clowds with the broom. Mr Crossley also said it can be something we make or collect. I use to collect spiders but then my favorite got squished named Herman and now I do not collect them anymore because if I know who they are I am sad when they squish them. These are all my hobbys. Signed, Harry Potter.

_I am sure you do more on weekends than chores! I am glad you like schoolwork, even though that is not exactly a hobby. What else do you do that is fun or that you care about?_

_Spelling: Hobbies, Clouds, Used. Write three times for next class._

29 November 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt but I am not in class so I do not know what it is. Today Sanjeev did not come to class and instead of maths Nurse Howard came who I do not like because she does not make you better when you see her. She came because Sanjeev had nits in his hair which are bad so she had to check all us for the nits and she found them in me Laura Malcolm Andrea. Now we need to go home because the nits are bad and we are not allowed to give them to other people. Laura Malcolm Andrea went home already with their mums but my aunt cannot come yet and she does not want me to give nits to Dudley so Mrs Figg might come get me which I would not like because I do not want to give her cats nits even if there are to many of them. Mr Crossley gave me my journal while I wait but Nurse Howard says I cannot be in class so I do not know the prompt which is Nurse Howards fault so I do not like her more. I do not like nits. Signed, Harry Potter.

_I am very sorry about your nits, Harry, but they are not Nurse Howard's fault! I hope you feel better and are back in class soon._

Harry Potter

Class 3C

What Is A Nit

30 November 1988

A nit is an egg that a lice lay on my head. It is a vermon and a pest and it is very bad. It is a noosants for other people and you get it from being a dirty boy with bad hair. My hair is very bad because it is so messy which is why it is full of nits. To kill the nits my hair had to be punished. Then it got washed in the upstairs tub with the shampow that smells and burns your eyes and my aunt had to brush it which hurt a lot. My aunt wanted to cut off all my bad hair but last time she did it all grew back and she did not like that so instead she punished my hair and killed all my nits. I feel bad for the nits now because it is not their fault they are pests and vermon and I think if they did not make me itchy they could be my friends and I would give them names. I am very sorry that I gave the nits to everyone with my bad hair.

_Harry - I think your information is not quite right! Actually, nits and lice love clean hair, so your head is probably a very nice place for them to live, which is why they are so determined to stay! Your hair is very nice-it is fun, like you! 3/5_


	4. December

2 December 1988

Hello journal. I am back. My aunt did not want me to stay home anymore because I am in the way and a noosants so I am back and all my nits are dead Nurse Howard checked. Sanjeev is back Andrea Laura Malcolm to. I am glad I am back I do not like to miss school or journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is what if we walked on the ceiling. If we walked on the ceiling that would be fun. Everyones hair would stick up like mine. My nits would have fallen out by themselves if I were always upside down because of gravity like Mr Crossley taught us in science. We would need special pockets to keep our things in so we would not drop them. Maybe only some people would walk on the ceiling some might stay on the ground then we would have two different towns and schools and houses for upside down and right side up people. That might be very fun. If I had friends they would live on the ceiling with me and bad people would stay on the ground and have to jump to try to catch us and we could drop things on them. We would need special shoes with sucshun or glue on the bottom to keep us stuck to the ceiling because it would hurt to fall from the ceiling to the floor and you would be sad on the ground if everyone else were in the sky. All our fernityour would have to be stuck to the ceiling to. This would all be very intresting. Signed Harry Potter.

_Well done, Harry! Very creative. You try to use very hard words in your journal sometimes, which is very good, even if you do not get them right the first time. Keep up the good work!_

_Spelling: Interesting, Furniture, Suction, Gravity. Write three times for next class._

5 December 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is my bedroom. We are meant to describe our bedrooms which is a room where you sleep in your bed at night. The place with my bed is where I sleep. It is very small but so am I because even though I like to this year I havent got any taller so it is okay mostly. My bed is just my size and my blanket is grey and so is my pilow so they match. On the wall by my dor I have my pictures that we make in art so only I can see them and when I am taller I will have stars on my ceiling and they will tell me stories at night. I have a shelv for my things where I keep my night that I play with he has a horse and a sword and is very heavy. The light gets broke sometimes but that is okay maybe I like the dark. Sometimes I want to live in a boxcar like Henry Benny Jessie Violet or a chocolate factory like Charlie or in Omris bedroom because his cupboard is to small and only big enuf for plastic things. But my place is all mine though and I do not have to share with Dudley so that is best. I am happy to not share and to have a roov over my head and a place that is mine because it is their whole house but they do not want my place because it is to small and has me in it. I do not like it when I am bad and get left in but I would rather be left in my own place alone then with my uncle or Dudley when I am in trouble. Signed Harry Potter.

_Harry - your room sounds very interesting. I am glad you do not have to share with Dudley - it is very nice to have our own place when we like to be alone. Your drawing of your room is so small, though; how would you fit through your little door?_

_Spelling: Pillow, Door, Roof, Haven't, Knight, Nuisance, Enough. Write three times for next class._

9 December 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is write a poem about winter. I do not know if I like this prompt I am not good at poetre because you have to rime and I am stupid at that. But it is a prompt at least so I will do it.

Winter Poem

by Harry Potter

When it snows

The white stuff goes

Falls from the sky

Right in my eye

It's wet and cold

But not that old

Cause it melts fast

Snow does not last.

_This is a very good poem, Harry! It reminds me of looking up into the first snow of the season. Your rhyming is excellent. Please try not to call your work stupid!_

_Spelling: Rhyme, Poetry. Write three times for next class._

13 December 1988

Hello journal. We do not have a prompt today. Instead I am going to write about what I feel. I feel happy because Sanjeev gave me some of his lunch today and my lunch ticket was gone from Dudley so I was very hungry. He did not have to share but he did and he said he likes to share with friends and his mum packs him to much food anyway but I am so happy and not hungry because of my friend Sanjeev. It was not as spicy today as last time I tried it it was good it had chicken in it and lots of spices I do not know the names of or I would say and also rise. It made my stomich warm and full and I bet it is also the happyness that makes it warm because I have a friend now like Omri and Little Bear and Patrick and Boone and Henry Jessie Violet Benny who are all each others friends and Charlie like with his Grandpa Joe. Dudley has lots of friends in a gang but I have one friend and he is better than all of them because he gave me food and is not scared of Dudley. If anyone tried to hit Sanjeev or take his food or lock him up I would not let them because friends do not let bad things happen to friends. I like Sanjeev a lot and am glad I have a friend. Signed Harry Potter.

_What a lovely journal entry! I am glad Sanjeev is your friend. It was kind of him to share but I want you to tell me right if you do not have your lunch ticket, please. See how writing what we feel can be fun even without a prompt?_

_Spelling: Stomach, Happiness, Rice. Write three times for next class._

16 December 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is what pet I like and why. I do not have a pet but I like thinking about pets a lot. Because pets are like friends that are animals instead of humans so they cant talk but they can still be your friend and help you when you are sad and lonly. Before I had my new friend Sanjeev I had no friends and wanted a pet so bad but now I only want a pet a lot because I have a friend but it is nice to have a lot of friends. If I could have a pet I would have a dog if it was nice and did not bite or growl or keep me in trees or a cat if it was only one or a turtle because he has a little room like mine he keeps on his back we learned in class. I had a spider pet once and he was a good friend but if I got a new pet I would want one to big to squish. If I could have any pet I would want a horse like on our farm prompt he would carry me places and be my steid like a knight and we would be called Lightning together or maybe a dinosaur or a lion so that I could be safe from bad things. My dog would keep me safe to it would only bite bad people and my cat would scratch anyone who wanted to hurt me. I would have any pet as long as it would like me and keep me safe. Signed Harry Potter.

_Pets can be very good friends, even if they can't speak. Sometimes, what you really need is someone to listen! Perhaps when you are older you can have a pet of your very own. Well done!_

_Spelling: Lonely, Steed. Write three times for next class._

20 December 1988

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is what I want for Christmas. Dudley says Father Christmas is not real and so I will not get what I want for Christmas. I do not know if I believe in Father Christmas anyway but I still wish he was real so that he would bring me something for Christmas. I have tried very hard to be very good this year and even though I am bad a lot I hope maybe I was good enough to not be on the nauty list. For Christmas what I would want most is a present just for me under the tree. It would have blue and gold wrapping paper and ribbons and a name tag on it that said TO HARRY WITH LOVE. That is how I would know it was mine. I would not open it right away I would save it and I would wait until Christmas morning proper instead of cheating like Dudley on Christmas Eve. Inside my present would be a book of my very own to keep just as mine and I could write my name in it and keep it always in my (scribbled out word) by my bed. Maybe the book would be James and the Giant Peach which I am almost done with for reading group or maybe it would be a new book that was very long and would last me a long time. I would like this very much but if I have been to bad this year I would understand and will try harder. Signed Harry Potter.

_That was a mean thing for Dudley to say. I am sure you have been very good this year, and even if Father Christmas does not bring you what you want, your aunt and uncle may pitch in! If you want, you can bring your reading group book home over the holidays so you can finish it before next year._

_Spelling: Holidays, Naughty, Too. Write three times for next class._

23 December 1988

Hello journal. Today is our last day of class before we go on holiday for Christmas. We do not have a prompt today. Well that is a lie I am sorry we do but I wish we did not today so I could write about Sanjeev who invited me round his to play over hols or maybe even anuther poem. Our prompt today is what makes us thankful. I am thankful for my new friend Sanjeev and I am thankful for not being in Dudleys class and I am thankful for Mr Crossley not showing my journal to my aunt and uncle. I am thankful for school and for my journal and my reading group and everything but maths which I am stupidest at but I guess I am thankful I am not even more stupid at maths. I am thankful for when I get bacon and sausage for breakfast and when I get to ride the car to school and that I dont have nits anymore and baths that are just the right temperature and eating at the table. I am thankful for a roof over my head and clothes on my back even though I am ungrateful. I am thankful for my scar because it is cool like lightning and the only thing cool about me and I am thankful my hair grew back after my haircut and that Miss Pierce isnt my teacher no more. I guess I am thankful for a lot but sometimes I think I am not thankful and I want things to be diferant but that is ungrateful so I try to be thankful a lot but it is sometimes hard.

We are meant also to think about next year Mr Crossley just said and I like that prompt more. Next year it will be 1989 and maybe then I will be taller. I will be nin next year but not for a long time. I will be in Mr. Crossleys class still because it is just a new year not a new school year. We are meant to have rezolotins for next year like you have wishes for Christmas but I dont know what a rezolotins is except Aunt Petunya makes one about not having sweets. My rezolotins would be to have lots of sweets and if I had them I would keep them in a box like Charlie and eat them a little all the time. The bell has rung for break so I will see you next year journal. Signed, Harry Potter.

Hello Mr Crossley I wanted to say happy Christmas to you so happy Christmas signed Harry Potter.

_Harry - It is very nice that you can find so much to be thankful for. I hope you have a lovely holiday and I will see you next year!_

_Spelling: Another, Different, Nine, Resolutions, Petunia._


	5. Interlude: January 3, 1989

_Start of Term Notes, H.P., 3/1/89_

Teddy Crossley underlined the name three times in his planner, then looked up. The boy was picking at the ragged sleeves of his jumper. He did so often; you could tell how his sleeves got to be in such a desperate state. Teddy had in front of him his cup of coffee, a folder of Harry's homework, his attendance book, and Harry's much battered journal. Somehow, he didn't feel prepared enough, even though this was the last task he had to complete before the end of the day. The first day back had been unbelievably exhausting; Christmas break had made him soft. Outside, the sky was grey - it was just about ready to snow.

He cleared his throat. Harry's eyes, which had been focused on his sleeves, shot up. He was a striking little thing, Teddy'd give him that. They'd had to talk to his aunt twice at the start of term about hygiene; the boy was apparently going through a stubborn, no baths phase, and it hadn't been very pleasant to be around him for a few weeks. But now that seemed settled, and he was a cute little thing, under the grime and the silence. Big eyed.

"I'm sorry," Harry said.

"What?" Teddy asked, somewhat confused.

"For whatever I did. I din't mean to."

"Oh, no, no, you're not in trouble, Harry." Teddy gave the boy a wide, forced smile. "I'm just having a chat with all the kids to see how they felt their first term went, and if there's anything we can do to make this term even better."

The boy was looking blankly at him. Teddy sighed. He liked this kid in theory - quiet, hard working, could spend more time on homework, sure, but his journal entries were some of the better ones to read; if he had to read another journal entry where Malcolm Davies just wrote the prompt out and then a list of the food he'd eaten that day, Teddy swore he'd go barmy. But there was something not right about him. Not mentally - his aunt, at parents night, had tried to convince him the boy was brain damaged, but he was quick as a whip. He just seemed desperately unhappy. Teddy hadn't thought that an eight year old boy could look so miserable, but Harry often did, and Teddy didn't know what to do about it.

"Did you like school this past term, Harry?"

The boy nodded, once, picking at this sleeve again. Teddy stifled a sigh, then pushed further.

"What did you like best about school this term, Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. No Dudley, I s'pose." Teddy was about to roll his eyes, when the boy added, "And reading and journal, in class."

Teddy stopped. This was one of the first times Potter'd actually expressed an opinion out loud. He smiled at the boy, this time a lot less forced. The boy looked back at him.

"Reading and journal, hm? And what do you like best about them?"

Harry picked at his sleeve again. "Dunno. I - I like the books we read. In group."

"I know, you talk about them very well in your journal. What do you like most about them?"

The boy shrugged again. "I - I guess I like - the people." He paused. "And - I like that weird things can happen."

"Mhm, yes, some strange things certainly do happen, in the things you're reading! Which was your favorite book?"

"Um - for group?"

"Yes, in class. Or anywhere, I suppose, it doesn't matter."

"I - I like all of them."

Teddy smiled at that again, and made a note in his pad. There was a frankness in the boy's voice Teddy liked. Books - all of them! he scribbled, then doodled a small lightning bolt next to it.

"Did you like any one particularly well?"

The boy bit his lip, shrugged. "I'm - I like James and the Giant Peach, but I'm not finished so if the end is sad I might not like it best."

"But you like it best now?"

The boy nodded. His fidgeting hands had shifted from his shirtsleeves to the battered knees of his school trousers. Teddy was about to ask another question, Harry exploded with "And he's got almost my name. James does."

"Does he really?" Teddy couldn't for the life of him remember James' last name - he had only skimmed the book, which had come in a special set, to make sure it was appropriate.

"James Henry Trotter. And I'm Harry James Potter, it says on my school form. They sound alike, our names, they're almost alike. I like James the best. Even more than Omri, or Henry in the Boxcar Children. And he's a Henry James too."

It was the most the kid had ever said to anyone at one time, at least in Teddy's hearing. He gave the boy a wide grin and laughed harder than he probably would have normally. The boy jumped a little, but smiled back.

"You're right. I'd never noticed before. Oh, how funny! And his grandfather is a James as well, isn't he? James Henry?"

The boy, who had been so excited, dimmed a little. "Yeah. I don't - I didn't like the grandfather."

Teddy remembered; he'd wanted the children to stay in the boxcar, where it was safe. He ran his fingers over the edge of Harry's journal, and felt his own excitement dimming. This was it. The unhappiness. It was in there, somewhere, but Teddy didn't know where to find it, or what to do when he did.

"He is good, really. The grandfather."

"He is in the books. But he might be mean when they stop. When no one looks."

Teddy frowned. The boy pulled in on himself, tugging the sleeve of his sweater and twisting it. Teddy tried to turn the conversation back to something fun.

"Are you almost done, with James and the Giant Peach?"

Harry nodded his head and kept twisting his sleeve. "I'm at - the cloud men."

Teddy nodded like he remembered what that meant. "Would you like to take it home with you tonight? You could read it then." He toyed with the journal again, remembering with a pang the boy's last entry. This kid seemed to think of himself as absolutely worthless. If he wanted the book, he could take it, if it'd make him look the tiniest bit less solemn.

Harry's head snapped up again, the sleeve forgotten. His eyes shone. He opened his mouth, excitedly, but then slammed it shut. He drooped, and shook his head hesitantly.

"I - I shouldn't. My aunt and uncle - they don't 'prove."

"Approve? Of what?" Frightening books, perhaps. He'd had a parent last year who'd said that Dahl was too scary and gruesome for such small children, and that it'd be better off burned. He thought of the lemon faced woman, Harry's aunt, who'd picked Harry up during the lice scare. Yeah, she'd seem the type to complain.

"I - weird things, they don't like. Like - the green things, at the start. It says - " the boy paused and looked over his shoulder, as if his aunt and uncle were listening in, and his whispered very softly, almost mouthed, " - _magic_ \- on the back cover. In big letters. They - they don't 'prove."

Magic? They didn't approve of magic? In kids books? Religious, he supposed. Well, at least they hadn't said anything to Teddy, or he'd probably have to yank the book away from the poor kid. No wonder he loved reading and journals. That would explain a lot, actually, if they were religious. The way the boy was a little bit off. Maybe they were members of some strict, joyless sect. Some group that didn't believe in kids having fun. He dressed the lemon faced aunt in his head in black, with a stern bonnet. Yeah, she seemed that type too. He couldn't remember if there was anything blasphemous in Harry's journal entries, but it would explain too why he'd gotten so white about them seeing it - probably they'd have to have a group pray or something. Well, if Teddy couldn't let the kid bring the book home, at least he'd make sure he'd still have access to it somewhere.

"Well, then, you just leave it here and read it at school. It can be our secret." He was rewarded with a small, grateful smile from Harry, at that. Not quite as brilliant as before, but good enough.

There was a sharp rap at the door, and the boy looked and lost the smile immediately. It was the sour faced aunt. She rapped again, and the boy shrunk down in his chair.

Teddy swore in his head as he beckoned her to come in. He'd been getting somewhere, damn it! The woman opened the door, but didn't step into his classroom. She was giving the boy a dirty look.

"What's the boy done now?" she snapped. Harry flinched, arms convulsively gripping his sleeves.

"Done? Nothing. No, no, we were just having an end of term chat - " Teddy said, feeling oddly reminded of Harry's quiet apology at the start of the meeting. "I try to have them with all my students. I'm sorry, if I'd known you were waiting I'd have called it short, but I thought Harry walked to and from school." He tried smiled at the woman - it would do him no good to get on her bad side - and stood up.

"My son has a dentist appointment. Come on then, you're keeping Mrs. Figg waiting!" she said to the boy sharply. Harry ran to the wall to collect his backpack and coat from where it hung on it's hook. As he did so, Teddy sidled closer to the woman.

"Erm, Mrs. - Dursley," he said, remembering her name just in time, "I'd actually like to meet with you and your husband at some point, regarding Harry. He's not in any trouble," he rushed, as her eyes narrowed. "Just - he's a remarkable boy."

"That one?" Somehow she sounded disbelieving, scornful, and irritated at the same time. He could see the back of the boy's neck flush and his shoulders tense as he buttoned his enormous coat, facing away from them.

"Yes, Harry. He's very bright, but I'm worried - " Teddy wasn't sure what to say to this woman, who he was realizing he sort of hated. "Well, I think he could be a lot happier than he is, that's all."

Mrs. Dursley stared at him for a moment, clearly baffled. Then she looked at Harry, who was slipping his tattered knapsack over his thin shoulders. "All right, then, hurry up, you'll make us late. Get to the car." Without a word, Harry made for the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Harry," Teddy said loudly, partly to spite the woman. He was rewarded with a look back and a smile, as Mrs. Dursley came up behind him and hurried him along. Teddy didn't quite see how - had she shoved the boy? - before he said "And I'll be in touch, Mrs. Dursley. About a meeting."

The woman did not acknowledge him. She let the door shut, loudly, behind her. Teddy was left, standing, alone in the center of his classroom.

He wasn't sure how, but somehow things had gotten a lot clearer and a lot more muddled at the same time.


	6. January

3 January 1989

Hello journal. It is a new year now. We are back from break and I am very glad because it gets boring without school and when you are bored you get chores to do and that is also boring and makes you tired too. I am happy today because we have a prompt and I missed prompts. Our prompt today is What will the world be like in 1999. That is ten years in the futyure. In ten years I will be eighten instead of eight. If I were eighten I would be big. I would be very tall too tall to live with the Dursleys, because when you are eighten you are a grown up. I will have to have a job then and earn my keep or I will move and have a house of my own maybe and I'd have a bed and a stove and a loo and I would put my clothes in my cupboard and food in my fridge and then I could maybe have a dog or a cat or a turtle or a rabbit or a horse if I had a big enough back garden. The tree in front of school will be very big in ten years. It is just a saplen now but Mr Montgomery the groundsmen says it will grow very fine and tall if it gets the rights food and lots of sun and water. All the trees will be bigger because ten years is a very long time. Maybe there will be lots of computers and tellys and robots in the futyure. Dudley got a computer for Christmas it is big and square and he uses it to play games. I am not supposed to touch it because it is so nice and new but in ten years computers will be old and maybe then I can touch them. Dudley hasn't got a robot though and I think that would be even better. Robots could do all the cooking and cleaning and chores and that would be very great. Then I could just sit in my house and play with my pets and maybe have friends and it would be all my own. Ten years though is very far away and will not happen for a long time I have not even been alive ten years yet but it will come one day and that will be nice. Signed Harry Potter

_I am also happy that break is over and we can all see each other again! You'd have to have a very big house and garden if you had so many pets._

_Don't forget to come talk to me after school lets out today!_

_Spelling: Future, eighteen, pollution, sapling. Write three times for next class._

6 January 1989

Hello journal. Today we do not have a prompt. I am going to play with my friend Sanjeev at break time and that will be fun. I did not go round his house over hols but I wanted to. Aunt Petunia said we were very busy and there wasn't time. Sanjeev has asked me to go round this weekend and I really want to. Sanjeev says he got a new remot contrul car for Christmas and that if I went over his I could use his old one and we could race. I would very much like to race cars with Sanjeev. On Tuesday I had to stay after class with Mr. Crossley and we talked about books and he said I could read anything I wanted in the classroom and that made me happy because I like our classroom books. I am almost done with James and the Giant Peach yay. I hope that we write about our books in our journal soon because I have a lot of things to say about James and the Giant Peach because so far it is my favorite book and I think unless the ending is that he has to go back to his horuble aunts it will still be my favorite. I will finish it on Monday in our free read time I hope. It is nice to be back in school. Signed Harry Potter.

_You are always welcome to read and borrow any book in our class library, and from our school library as well. If you are ever for want of something to read, or just wish for a chat please feel free to come to me whenever. I am glad you and Sanjeev are getting to be good friends!_

_Spelling: Remote, control, horrible. Write three times for next class._

10 January 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt today is one thing we are good at. We have to describe one thing we are really good at. This is a hard prompt because I do not know if I am really good at anything. I might just be fair like how I get fair on my homework all the time and fair isnt really good. The only thing I am more than fair at is I think running. Running is something I like to do sometimes because it gets me places fast and away from mean people. I am a very fast runer. I do not get out of breth and I almost always get away. At least when I am outside and there are places to run to. If there is no room to run than I do not get away. Dudley is not fast, he is very slow, and he hates to run because he is so fat. I am always faster than Dudley and Malcom and Dennis and mostly Piers, and in sports I am faster than everyone but Sanjeev and Georgie. But since I am not the fastest I dont know if this means that I am really good at running or just sort of good. I wish I were running today but my PE kit got stolen so I will not get to do sports today and Mr. Lyman will shout. Signed Harry Potter.

_It certainly does sound as if you are very good at running! Keep up the good work! Please see me before sports tomorrow-I will talk to Mr. Lyman about getting you a new sports kit. Watch your punctuation: you need an apostrophe in words like 'don't' or 'isn't!'_

_Spelling: Runner, breath, then, don't, isn't, Malcolm. Write three times for next class._

13 January 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt and it is to talk about our reading group book yay finly. My reading group book is called James and the Giant Peach. It is about a boy named James Henry Trotter. His parents are killed by a rhino and he has to go live with his mean aunts. They are huruble mean. One day though a man with a bag of magic crocadile tongues comes and he gives the bag to James because then marvelus things will happen to him and he'll never be misurable again. But James trips with the bag and doesnt get to use the crocadile tongues right. They all go in the dirt and instead the peach tree grows a huge peach that is bigger than any peach in the world. The mean aunts only care about the money so they make people pay to see if but James has to stay locked in. But then one night he's cleaning and he goes in to a tunnel in the peach and he gets all the way in and he meets a bunch of different inseks and bugs a centipede a earthworm a old grasshopper a lady bird a gloworm a silkworm and Miss Spider. The bugs help him and together they all escape to the ocean and then to America. The bugs are like his real family and they sqush the terrible aunts and James is free and has lots of friends and everything is better in America. He lives in a park in the peach pit and is famus and has lots of friends not just bugs but also bugs.

I like James a lot. I like him better than Charlie Benny Henry Violet Jessie Omri. I wish he was real so he could be my friend. If we were friends we could protect each other. James has aunts that are the worst. They are called Sponge and Spiker they are horrible. One is fat like Uncle Vernon and one is thin like Aunt Petunia but they do not have a son like Dudley because they hate children. They do not let James out to play and he gets hit by them and they make him do lots of chores and sometimes he gets no food and he has to sleep in the attic. They never call James his name either. He gets called beast or nusance or brat. If I were friends with James I would always call him James. And he would call me Harry. I wish my life were like Jameses because then I would have had parents I could remember and even if I had to live with the Dursleys or the bad aunts I would know that it would end because a man would give me magic so the marvelus things could happen and I would get a new family I would not care if they were made of bugs. Mr Crossley says journal time is over but I wish it was not because I really really really really REALLY like James and the Giant Peach and if I could talk about it forever I would. Signed Harry Potter.

_Harry - I am so glad that you liked James and the Giant Peach and that the ending was not disappointing! James does have a very hard life at the beginning of the book, and it is good that he is able to get away and be happy. If you want to talk about James and the book more, please feel free to come and see me after class._

_Spelling: Finally, nuisance, crocodile, miserable, marvelous, glowworm, insects, squish, James'. Write three times for next class._

17 January 1989

Hello journal. Today do not have a prompt. It snowed last night so I cannot go outside for break today. Other kids can go but not me because I have no bootes. Sanjeev said he would stay inside with me during break and we could play games, but since he has his bootes he is not allowed. I have to sit with the other kids who are not allowed out in Miss Pierces room. I am glad I have a book otherwise Miss Pierce would make me put my head down on the desk like last year and I do not like that. Mr. Crossley said I could start the new book for reading group just to read by myself during free time. It is called Peter Pan and I am looking forward to reading it a lot. There is a movie of it that Dudley has watched but I have not seen it and Mr Crossley says the book is better anyway. Mr Crossley says it is about a boy who never grows up so I feel bad for him already. I hope I grow up because if not I will be a kid forevr. I hope Miss Pierce does not take my book away from me because last year I was not allowed to read the class books because they would get hurt and I am scared she will take this one even though my teacher for this year gave it to me and she will tell Mr. Crossley not to let me read anymore.

_I hope you enjoy Peter Pan as much as you enjoyed James and the Giant Peach. Don't let Miss Pierce frighten you - her bark is worse than her bite!_

_Spelling: Boots, Pierce's, Forever. Write three times for next class._

20 January 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is what is your favorite season. The seasons are autum spring summer or winter and we are meant to write why it is a favorite and what do we do then. I do not know what my favorite season is. Maybe my favorite is summer because that is when my birthday is because my birthday is July which is a summer month. But there is no school for most of summer and this year I like school and I do not like being home all day in summer so I guess summer is not my favorite really. Maybe it is winter but maybe not because in winter it is very cold at night and that is not nice and you need boots to go out at break and I forget my boots too much. So I think spring or autum and I like both of those and they are simliar seasons but I think I like autum better because that is when school starts and there are leaves and it is not to hot and not to cold just right for my coat. In autum I like to walk to and from school to kick leaves and I like to watch people decrate for Halloween and I like to smell how the air is almost burnd. That is why autum is my favorite season. Signed Harry Potter.

_Very descriptive and well reasoned! You are right - the air does have a certain smell in autumn, which I also like very much. Don't forget to give your aunt the note about remembering our outside clothes in winter!_

_Spelling: Autumn, Similar, Too, Decorate, Burned. Write three times for next class._

24 January 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. It is to write a story. Our story title has to be The Bat Who Couldnt Fly but all the rest of it we can make up ourselves. Once upon a time there was a bat who couldnt fly. His name was Bart the Bat and he lived with his Mum Bat and Dad Bat. All the other bats could fly but he could not. At bat school he would get tesed by the other bats who would push him and break his glasses. He would go home sad because the other bats were mean but then one day he was in the bat school yard after they finished their morning lessons learning their a bat cs. The meanest bat kid Buddy the Bat was pushing him and pushing him and he pushed him over the wall of the yard and Bart started to fall. He was very scared because he was falling but then the wind caught his wings and he started to flap and then he was flying and he flew away to his house and his Mum Bat and Dad Bat were so proud they all flew away to a new nice place with no mean bats. That was how Bart the Bat who Couldnt Fly learned to fly. Signed Harry Potter.

_Very creative, Harry! I like your story very much, and I hope you will write some more! Your spelling is improving very much, but please watch your apostrophes._

_Spelling: Teased, C's. Write three times for next class._

27 January 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. It is Composing a Letter. We have the letter formate on the board and we are supposed to follow it to write our own letter.

Dear dad,

Hello. How are you? I am well. It is your son Harry and I am writing from class to learn to write letters. I do not have anyone to write to, but Mr. Crossley said it did not have to be someone who would answer back, or even a real person, because we are just practicing to learn. Not that you are not a real person but you will not answer back. I hope it is very nice where you are and you see Mum alot. I miss you very much and I hope you miss me too.

Sinserley yours, Harry Potter

_This is a very good letter, Harry. Sometimes, when we are lonely or we miss people, it can help to write letters to them, almost like little journal entries. Nicely done on formatting and spelling!_

_Spelling: Format, A lot, Sincerely. Write three times for next class._

31 January 1989

Hello journal. Today we have not got a prompt. I wish we did though because the last times we had no prompt I could talk about my new friend Sanjeev but today Sanjeev is mad at me and says he is not my friend any longer. Because this weekend he asked me over and I said I had to ask and I did ask and I could not go but I was not alowd to use the phone to call and tell Sanjeev I could not go so Sanjeev thinks I ignord him and did not want to go round his and I really did I just could not. Then in the yard today he came to ask me why I did not want to go and why I never asked him round mine and Dudley came over and hit him and I should have protected him because Sanjeev still was my friend then but Dudley was too big and he broke my glasses and Malcom sat on me and then he told Sanjeev I didnt have my own house to invite him round it was his and he didn't want a packy in his house. Packy is a bad name and Sanjeev said he wasn't a packy he was British and his parents were from India so they weren't packys either, and Piers punched him and said the if Dudley said he was a packy he was a packy. Sanjeev was upset and he got away and then after I tried to find him and Sanjeev said he knew I did not call him that bad word but that he thinks maybe we should not be friends anyway. I think it is because of Dudley and because I am bad at bein a friend. So now all my friends are gone and I am alone again and my head hurts from Dudley and if I were a girl I would cry not because of what Dudley did to my head but because I have no friends. Mr Crossley says that sometimes writing things out makes you feel better but now I feel worse and do not want to write anymore. Signed Harry Potter.

_Harry - come and see me right away, please. Sometimes friends fight, but I am sure Sanjeev and you will work it out. Dudley's behavior is unacceptable, and it will be dealt with._

_Spelling: Allowed, ignored, Malcolm. Write three times for next class._


	7. Interlude: February 3, 1989

**Meeting Transcript**

_Attendees:_

__V. Dursley, P. Dursley, T. Crossley, J. Quentin, & Head L. Harper_ _

3/2/1989 

VD: I don't understand why we're here. These accusations are nothing but a load of old tosh. 

LH: Dudley apparently called one boy a racial slur before hitting him and pinned another boy to the ground to prevent him from getting help. These are serious claims, Mr. Dursley. 

PD: Dudley's innocent. He wouldn't hurt a fly. 

LH: This isn't the first time we've had complaints about Dudley's behavior. That's why we're all here. I believe you've met Ms. Quentin, Dudley's teacher.

JQ: Mr. Dursley. Mrs. Dursley. We'll get this all cleared up. 

VD: Who's that, then? 

PD: It's the boy's teacher, Vernon. Crestly. 

TC: Crossley, actually. Mr. Dursley.

VD: What's he doing here? Is the boy involved in this? 

LH: Harry was a witness to - 

VD: Well, there's the answer right there! The boy's never told the truth in his life. Probably made the whole thing up. 

LH: Mr. Dursley, there were multiple witnesses to what happened to Sanjeev Kapur, and Sanjeev himself told me in detail what happened. Now, I feel it would be appropriate in this case at the very least for Dudley to apologize to the other boy, in writing, and also lunch detention for a week. 

PD: A week! 

VD: Lunch detention? A bit harsh, when we don't even know if Dudley's done anything wrong! 

JQ: It's fairly standard in this sort of situation, Mr. Dursley. Dudley's received lunch detention from me before. 

PD: From you? What for? 

JQ: Minor infractions. Talking out of turn, some issues with sharing. He's a boisterous boy, he just needs to channel his energies into more positive areas. 

LH: His friends who participated in the incident will receive a similar punishment. But I also feel it would be appropriate for Dudley to visit our school counselor. 

VD: A counselor? Dudley's not crazy! 

LH: We don't think he's crazy, Mr. Dursley. We simply feel that he could use some help, as Mrs. Quentin said, channeling his energy and potential in a more productive way - 

VD: Over my dead body! That sort of thing goes on a record! Are you trying to brand him for life as a nutter, just because he got a little carried away with a foreigner? 

(Pause.) 

LH: Mr. Dursley, this is not negotiable. Dudley will see Dr. Starke once a week for the next two months, at which time we will re-evaluate whether or not it remains necessary. Dudley's got quite the temper - 

VD: He's a boisterous lad, doesn't know his own strength, it's all in good fun - 

TC: Harry seems to come off on the wrong end of Dudley's good fun quite often. 

VD: See here, you've no right to talk to us about our Dudley. You're not his teacher, are you? You're stuck with the boy. That boy's a horrid little liar, always has been. If you knew Dudders, you'd know how off-base you are. How do you know the boy didn't do all this himself, and set Dudley up? 

TC: You think Harry attacked Sanjeev? How much does the boy weigh, three and a half stone soaking wet? 

PD: He's vicious. He's always been jealous of Dudley. Tries to get him in trouble all the time. 

TC: I highly doubt Harry blacked his own eye, Mrs. Dursley. 

VD: Boy's clumsy. He has accidents. 

PD: Hurts himself, sometimes, too. To get attention.

LH: He self-injures? 

TC: Are you sure? 

VD: Think we'd know the boy better than you would. 

LH: Mr. Dursley, there's no need for that. We just want what's best for both the boys. That's part of why Mr. Crossley is here. 

TC: I spoke with your wife about a month ago, very briefly, about having a meeting about Harry. I'm worried about him. He seems very unhappy. 

_LH: We think it might be for the best if Harry saw the counselor too. And in light of this information about self-injuring -_

PD: Oh, well, it's not that serious, really. Mostly he's just clumsy - 

LH: Mrs. Dursley, self-injury in a child this young is extremely serious. Frankly, you should have brought this to our attention sooner. 

VD: That boy is a destructive little menace, and if he - 

PD: No, perhaps you're right, we should have. We - we thought we could deal with it ourselves, but the boy is too much for us. Troublesome, violent - 

TC: That's very much at odds with the Harry I know. 

PD: Manipulative, as well. He's obviously got you fooled. Perhaps some - outside help would be - for the best. 

VD: See here, Pet - 

PD: We'll talk about it later, Vernon. Later. Is that all, Headmistress? 

LH: For now. I'll set up meetings for Harry and Dudley with Dr. Starke. Thank you for coming in, Mr. Dursley, Mrs. Dursley. Dudley and Harry are just outside. 

(Pause. Door opens and shuts.) 

TC: You're just going to let them go? 

LH: What do you suggest I do, Ted? 

TC: I - I don't know, but you can't let Harry go with them! They're awful! 

LH: They're his guardians, and if we took away every child whose parents acted badly in a conference - 

TC: It's not the same thing and you know it, Laura. How they acted about their own son was bad enough, but fine, at least they seem to care about him. But Harry! They wouldn't even say his name, did you notice? 

JQ: Calm down, Teddy. 

TC: You look at that kid and you spend some time with him, then we'll see if you want me to calm down! If he was in your class - 

JQ: He was in Anthea Pierce's class last year, she doesn't seem to hold your view. 

TC: Anthea has a stick shoved up her - 

LH: That's enough. 

TC: And everything that came out of their mouth sounded like a lie! Vicious? He writes journal entries mourning his pet spider and - and how much he wants friends, and how he hates getting hit! And you just sent him home with a boy who hits everything that moves, and you let them call him vicious? 

LH: Vicious may be a bit much, but I've had to deal with Potter-related problems since he started at this school. Trouble follows him, Ted, you can't deny it. 

TC: Trouble named Dudley Dursley! 

LH: I heard you, Ted! Now, hear me. That boy sounds like at the very he is grossly unhappy, from your observations and this news from the aunt about the self-injury. Yes? 

TC: Yes. 

LH: Well, at the very least, he's on the radar now. He'll start seeing Daniel Starke, who is uniquely qualified to talk to him, and if Daniel has any concerns, he'll report them through the proper channels. There's a system for a reason, Ted. 

(Pause.) 

TC: Fine. But I'm not going to forget about him. If I see anything - 

LH: Then report it. But all I see is a family with two boys with behavioral issues. You get an eye for the sort of thing you're worried about after a while, Ted. And I don't see it here. 

TC: Then no offense, Laura, but I think you're blind. 

_(Door opens and shuts.)_


	8. February

3 Febury 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt and I am glad because last time we had no prompt and now my aunt and uncle have to come in to speak with the headmistress and that is scary trouble and I like prompts better because they are safer. Our prompt is what would you do if you could fly. If I could fly, I would fly all the time. Maybe I would have wings like bats or birds. Then I would flap them and fly into the sky. I would sleep in trees under the sky because I think if you can fly you wouldn't want to ever be coowped up again. I would fly next to airplains because I have never been on an airplain and I would wave at the pilot and maybe he would wave back. Or I would fly to America just to see what it is like and if it is like the Boxcar Children and like where James went to live at the end. I think most though I would just like to fly in the air and be free and that would be what I would do if I could fly. Signed Harry Potter.

_Very nice, Harry - your description of flying reminds me of the phrase 'free as a bird!' Don't be scared; the meeting with the headmistress is to try and help you and Dudley, not to get anyone in trouble. You should always feel safe to write whatever you want in your journal._

_Spelling: Cooped, Airplanes, February. Write three times for next class._

7 Ferbury 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. It is imagin you could paint anything on your bedroom walls, what would you paint? I do not have a lot of room on my walls really and the Dursley's would never let me because the walls are theres not mine, but if I could I guess I would paint a big sun and clouds and sky so it would be like I was outside all day even when the door was closed and it was dark. Maybe I would also paint some stars on the ceiling that would glow when it was dark. But I can never do this so it is stupid to imagin. Signed, Harry Potter.

_It is never stupid to imagine, Harry. Your ideas for your walls sound very nice, but I miss all your nice descriptions! Please do not call yourself stupid - I think you are very smart and special._

_Spelling: February, imagine, theirs. Write three times for next class._

10 Februry 1989

Hello journal. I am sorry my last journal entry was so bad. Today we have a prompt. Out prompt today is our most memrable dream. The kind we have at night, not the ones you have for when you are big. I dream a lot and sometimes I dream nice things. Once I dreamed about a motorsicle that could do strange things. I have that dream a lot but most times I forget it. I forget lots of my dreams which I suppose means they are not memrable. The motorsicle dream is nice because the motorsicle is like magic. It can fly and do other things and sometimes I get to ride it and that is the best. I can never remember where we go or what it's for but I like that dream a lot even if it is probably not memrable enough.

_What an interesting dream! It would be nice to be able to fly. I enjoy reading every one of your journal entries. Keep up the good work!_

_Spelling: Memorable, February, Motorcycle. Write three times for next class._

14 Febroary 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is Valentins Day. Today it is Valentins Day. Valentins Day is a holiday, but not the kind you get school off for. You give people chocolates and cards to show you love them. Dudley got eight boxes of chocolate today from his mum one for each year he's been alive, and he brought candy to school that hes supposed to give to his class but he ate a lot of it before first bell. You are meant to bring in cards to give to your friends in class but since I have no friends I did not bring cards and I will not get any not even from Sanjeev but that is okay. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Check your mailbox, Harry - everyone in class got one valentine from me! Your spelling is so much better, but we still need to work on our punctuation and apostrophes._

_Spelling: Valentines, He's. Write three times for next class._

17 February 1989

Hello journal. Today we do not have a prompt. I do not know what to write. I cannot write about Sanjeev because he is not my friend and I am supposed to be better at talking at school which I think is for writing too so I do not know what to say. Now that Sanjeev is not my friend I have to go see Dr Stark who says he is like a friend but he is a grown up so he is not really. I cannot go round his house to play remote control cars. Dudley has to see Dr Stark too because of what happened with Sanjeev. I do not know why I have to see him. I go see him in lunch break on Fridays and we are meant to talk but I am bad at talking and sometimes Dr Stark asks hard questins so sometimes I have to sit quiet till the clock says time. Even though he is not my friend and asks hard questins seeing Dr Stark is not that bad except Dudley says I have to see him because I am mad and sykotic and maybe Dr Stark will send me to a madhouse so I wont bother the Dursleys anymore. But Dudley has to see him to so maybe Dudley is mad and sykotic and will go to a madhouse. I hope if I go to a madhouse Dudley does not go with me because without Dudley maybe a madhouse would not be so bad and I could make friends with the mad people but if Dudley were there it would be bad. Signed, Harry Potter.

_No one is going to a mad house, and you are not mad or psychotic. Dr Starke is there to help you and Dudley. He is just someone to talk to, and you should never be afraid to talk to him. Pretend he is like your journal on a no prompt day - just talk and see what comes out!_

_Spelling: Starke, Questions, Psychotic. Write three times for next class._

21 February 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is to write a pome. It is a special kind of pome called an akrastic. That is when you write a word down sideways and you put words in front of each letter so the big word has lots of little words in it. We are doing akrastic pomes with any word or with our names. It does not need to rhyme but it is still hard especially with HARRY because I don't know any y words really except yuck and Mr Crossley said that poems about yourself should always be about good things.

W et

A kwa is Latin for it

T ea is made with it

E lefants like to drink it

R ivers are filled with it

_Very clever, Harry! In acrostics, we do not have to describe why we write the words we do - the reader is meant to understand what the words mean in the bigger picture. A very nice first job._

_Spelling: Poem, Aqua, Acrostic, February, Elephants. Write three time for next class._

24 February 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt to talk about our books for reading group. Our book was Peter Pan. I liked Peter Pan very much but not as much as James and the Giant Peach. Peter Pan is a boy who doesnt grow up. When he was little he got locked out of his house and couldnt get in and his parents replaced him so he flew to Neverneverland where he lives with the lost boys and is a boy forever. Wendy John Michael all go join him because the boys need a mother from Wendy and they have wonderful adventures and have to fight pirates and indians and bad Captin Hook. At the end though all the lost boys and Wendy John Michael go back to their home and leave Neverneverland and Peter alone and I did not like that because even with pirates Neverneverland was safe and home is not. If I were a lost boy I would not go home. I wish I could be a lost boy when I get locked out. I would be the best at not growing up and it would be a great adventure. I would sleep in a tree and have no walls and be able to see the sky when I wanted. Even sleeping underground would be better because there would be lots of space and friends there with me. Peter is mean sometimes, and forgets people, but that would be all right because I would be able to fly and everything would be better with that even if I were forgotten. Signed, Harry Potter.

_I am glad you liked the book, Harry! Wendy's home is a safe place, that is why they go back to it - her parents miss her and her brothers very much. Everyone should have a safe home to go to. What do you mean when you say "When I get locked out"?_

_Spelling: Doesn't, Couldn't, Never Never Land, Captain. Write three times for next class._

28 February 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. It is Leap Years. Today is the last day of February which is the shortest month and has 28 days. Some years in February you have 29 days in February. It is still the shortest month but it is a little longer and that is because you need an extra day sometimes to make the calendar and the sun match up because we spin very fast and otherwise we would lose time. Last year was a leap year and we had a whole extra day. If I had an extra day this year I would spend the whole day doing something fun. But this year we have no extra day and we wont again for three more years maybe more. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Good job, Harry! You were obviously paying a lot of attention in science today._

_Spelling: None! Very good work!_


	9. March

3 March 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. The prompt is if you could live in history when would you live. If I could live in history I think I would like to live back in the time of knights and dragons. Back then if you were an orphan you could run off and find a knight and offer to be his squire and then you would take care of his armor and his horse and help him when he fought bad people. I'd run off and find a brave knight and help him. He would have a horse named Lightning that I would brush and feed and I could make sure his sword was sharp always and he would teach me everything he knew and we would fight evul. Maybe we would find some dragons and we could kill them if they were scaring and hurting people but if they were nice maybe I could learn to ride one and take care of it and feed it and I could grow up to be Sir Harry and work for the queen and live in a castle. I think this would be a nice time to live except there would be no school. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Very nice, Harry, but I think even in medieval times, dragons didn't exist! Maybe you can pick a book on this topic for your next free reading book._

_Spelling: Evil. Write three times for next class._

7 March 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. It is to write a story and the title has to be 'The Day I Found Burryed Treasure' but the rest we write ourselves. The day I found burryed treasure I woke up in my bedroom. I went downstairs and my mum made breakfast for us and we sat at the table together and ate all the food and I got all the syrop I wanted. Then my dad said 'Would you like to go find burryed treasure Harry' so I said 'Yes please' and we went. First we looked down the end of the garden. There was no treasure there. Then we looked under the tree in the school yard. No treasure there either. Then we went to the cave at the edge of town to look. I was scared to go in because it was so dark but my dad was there and he said 'It is all right Harry I will watch out for you' so I was safe the whole time and we went in the cave. In the cave there were lots of animals guarding the treasure they were mean and had huge teeth big blood eating bats and angry dragons and pirates but me and my dad got past all of them and we made it finally to where they were keeping the treasure. It was in a big trunk like pirates have but it was too dark to see in the cave so we had to take it out of the cave to see the treasure. My dad opened it and it was filled with gold and silver and jools and crowns. We brought it home to my mum and gave her the best jool and she said thank you and made us dinner which was a hamburger and chips and a strawberry milkshake each and we all ate and laughed together and then that night they tucked me in and said 'Good night Harry' and that was the end of the best day when me and my dad found burryed treasure. The End. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Harry - what a wonderful story. I would not change a thing._

_Spelling: Buried, Syrup, Jewels. Write three times for next class._

10 March 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Our prompt is a tour of our house. We are meant to write about a tour of our house from the purspecktive of a pet or a cup or something. I do not have a pet but Dudley had a turtle once and sometimes he would let it walk about the house so I am going to write about him even though it is not my house or my pet. I am a turtle. I crawl very slow. I am crawling around upstairs but turtles are not allowed into real peoples bedrooms so I just see lots of doors. The stairs are very big over my head and it takes a long time to crawl down. There are wellys and shoes in a line near the front door by the mat. Some of them smell pu so I crawl away from there fast. Then I am crawling down the hall and there is the parlor on one side turtles are not supposed to be in there but I peek anyway. There is sofas and a table with lots of crisps on it and a big telly and the big humans are sitting there watching it so I crawl away real quiet so they do not know the turtle is there because they will put me back in my cage. On the other side of the hall is the cupboard under the stairs. The door is closed and locked but the grate is open but it is too high so I cannot see in the cupboard. Turtles don't care about cupboards anyway. I crawl real slow into the kitchen and there is lots of shiny counters and on the counters is maybe some lettuce and I eat it because turtles get hungry. Then I hear a big human scream real loud because turtles aren't meant to be in the kitchen and I get scooped up and shook and put back in my cage. That is what the house looks like to the turtle. Signed, Harry Potter.

_Very interesting, Harry. You really get inside the turtle's head here! You could be a little more detailed here - even though the turtle is not allowed in the bedrooms, you could still describe them a little. What would the turtle see in your room? Your aunt and uncles? But very creative, still._

_Spelling: Perspective, Wellies, P.U. Write three times for next class._

14 March 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt which is to talk about our books for reading group. This time we read a book that the girls picked and I did not think I would like it because it is about girls but atually it is pretty good even if the girls are all the characters. It is called A Little Princess and it is about a girl named Sara and first she was rich and lived in India with her dad who was a soldier and very brave and kind. But then he dies and she is an orphan and the teacher at her school is mean and makes her move to the attic and be a servant because she has no parents anymore to help her. Miss Minchin is the meanest and she hates Sara because Sara is smart and clever and kind and better than her which is why she makes her go to the attic to live like James mean aunts made him live in the attic. I think if the Dursleys had an attic I would have to live there. She has to do all the chores and is hungry all the time and gets hit and her ears boxed when she doesn't finish and she is sometimes very sad and alone because she has no parents. But she always tells stories and has imagines and those make her feel better and even when she is poor she has two friends but they are also girls because there are no boys in the whole book practicly. The man who took all her fathers money lives across the way and his Indian gentilmen finds her and tries to make her life nice with carpets and blankets and warm fires and food. Reading this book made me very hungry because there is so much good food for Sara when the Indian gentilmen goes to her attic. Then at the end the man who took all her fathers money finds her and takes her in and she don't have to work anymore and she goes back to being a princess and eating all the nice food and reading good books, except her fathers still dead. The thing that would make this book better is if it was about a boy instead. Signed, Harry Potter.

Hello Mr Crossley. I have a question. Why are all the books about orphans? Signed Harry Potter.

_Harry - I'm not sure why so many of these main characters are orphans! That is a very good observation. Maybe you can think about it and bring it up for our book talk. I am glad you liked A Little Princess - sometimes a story does not need boys in it for us to enjoy it! You might also like The Secret Garden, which is by the same author - the main character is a girl (and an orphan!) but her two best friends are boys. The Red Group should talk about that for another reading book!_

_Spelling: Actually, Practically, Father's, Gentleman. Write three times for next class._

17 March 1989

Hello journal. Today we do not have a prompt. It is St Patricks Day today. That means you are supposed to wear green or you get pinched. I do not have any green so I got pinched a lot by (scribbled out word) some boys and I said I was wearing green because my eyes are green and then I got a punch instead of a pinch. I did not do what Dr Starke said which was to ignore them which is probably why I got the punch. Dr Starke says if you ignore somebody they'll go away but it's hard to ignore them when they won't stop hurting you. But maybe if I were better at ignoring them they would stop. Anyway St Patricks day is boring but St Patrick is interesting. Mr Crossley read us a poem about him today. He chased all the snakes and serpints out of Ireland into the osean. I think that is interesting and it doesn't have anything to do with wearing the color green. Signed Harry Potter.

_Harry - was Dudley one of these boys? Dr. Starke is right that you should try not to engage, but if you ignore them and they don't stop you should get an adult or a teacher to help you. Please come speak with me after class._

_Spelling: Ocean, Serpents. Write three times for next class._

21 March 1989

Hello journal. Today we have a prompt. Today our prompt is Easter Hols. This is our last journal entry before Easter hols. School stops Thursday and then we do not come back until April which is a very long time almost two weeks. We are meant to write about what we will do for our Easter hols but I will not do anything. Aunt Marge who is not my aunt will come visit and she will bring her dog Ripper who is mean so I will try not to do anything so that Ripper will not see me and find me and give me a bite. Sometimes she brings big Cadbery eggs and hides them round the yard for Dudley to find for Easter but I do not play so I will not do that over hols or Ripper will bite me or chase me up the tree. I do not like Ripper because Ripper hates runts. Last time Aunt Marge who is not my aunt came she said that he bit one of the puppies from the last litter to death because he was a runt and runts can't live because they end up dragging the other puppies down. She said that is why he is called Ripper because he ripped the puppie apart. I do not think that is right even if the puppie was a runt but I did not say that to Aunt Marge who is not my aunt. I wish we did not have a break for so long because I like school and miss it when we are gone for long. Signed Harry Potter.

_Ripper does sound like a mean dog. Maybe you should tell your aunt and uncle he is not friendly? Why do you call her Aunt Marge if she is not your aunt? I will miss you too over our long holiday and I hope you have a lovely and safe break and I can't wait to see you when we come back._

_Spelling: Holiday, Cadbury, Puppy._


	10. Interlude: April 3, 1989

Not twenty minutes into the very first dinner hour of term, Laura Harper was standing outside Teddy Crossley's classroom door with a pale, shaking Harry Potter in tow. It was not the way Teddy expected his first day back to go. The morning itself had been an utter nightmare - the children had all been excessively hyper and not inclined to listen. Gordon Pritchard had brought an enormous bag of Easter chocolates to class and spent the time eating them or throwing the crumpled wrappers at the other children, and everyone was just getting wilder and wilder until Teddy lost his temper and shouted at the lot of them. Looking at their shocked faces - Teddy rarely got angry and yelled even less - Teddy felt a little guilty, but it was to his relief and their own that the dinner hour had finally come. He'd been looking forward to some peace and quiet. That was before Laura showed up.

"Harry?" Teddy said, hearing the surprise in his voice. The boy flinched. He looked a fright. His arms were crossed over his chest, fingers picking compulsively at the elbows of his sweater, and the knees of his trousers looked to be spotted with blood. He had a livid bruise down the side of one cheek, and his glasses were twisted crazily and looked to be barely balanced on his pinched, frightened face. "My god, what happened?"

"Go wait in the classroom, Potter. Mr. Crossley will be in in a minute." The boy didn't move. Laura gave Teddy a look.

"Harry? It's all right, I'm just going to have a word with Mrs. Harper, then we'll talk. Can you go wait inside for me?"

Without looking at Teddy at all, Harry slid past him, into the classroom. Once the door clicked shut, Teddy rounded on Laura.

"What's happened? What's Dudley done now? I swear, if - "

"Calm down Ted. Dursley's got nothing to do with this latest stunt."

"What stunt? What's wrong?"

"Potter's been climbing on school buildings." Laura's tone sounded grim, and Teddy felt his jaw drop open. Whatever he'd been expecting, that didn't even come close.

"Harry? Are you sure?" The boy barely looked strong enough to climb a rope.

"Dimmick found him sitting on the chimney up by the kitchens. Boy's denying it now, but how else could he get up there? I've written a letter for the aunt and uncle." She held out a white envelope, the front addressed to Mrs. Dursley. "For now, keep him in the classroom with you for the rest of the day. We may have to have a meeting about whether or not suspension is necessary."

"Suspension? Harry?"

"It's not his first offense, Ted."

"But - "

"We'll have a meeting about it tomorrow. You can fight about it then." Laura ran a hand down her face and sighed. "Honestly, if it's not one thing with this boy, it's another. And on the first day back. Just keep him in the room and keep him out of trouble, at least until the end of the day, Ted. Please."

"Shouldn't I take him to the nurse? He's bleeding."

"Won't let anyone near him. Just goes stiff. He'll be fine - he didn't fall, that's one good thing about this fiasco. God knows how he got the whole way up there without being seen, but perhaps that's for the best - imagine if Sue broke his concentration. Potter pancake."

"Not that his relatives would care," Ted grumbled. Laura raised a hand.

"Not now, Ted, please. Just watch him." She handed him the letter. "And make sure his aunt gets this when she picks him up."

Teddy stared at the letter, slowly reached out and took it, felt it between his hands. He'd rather give the aunt a sound slap than hand her this little envelope of ammunition. I'll get the whole story, he thought, tucking it away. Harry would tell him. He'd go back in the classroom, see if the boy'd let him clean his knees, have a chat. There had to be more to this story, more that Laura didn't understand. There had to be.

When he went back into the classroom, he thought for a moment that Harry had run off. He wasn't sure how - there was only one door to the room, and they were on the second story! It wasn't until he heard a shuffling sound coming from the supply closet that he went to investigate and found him.

He'd fit himself in between the filing cabinets, under the bottom shelves. There wasn't really enough room for him. He had his arms wrapped around his knees, his eyes focused on the door. When Ted opened it and the light spilled in, the boy flinched back like a frightened animal. Teddy kneeled and tried to make eye contact - not something Harry was good at in the best of times.

"Hey, there. What's going on in here?" Teddy's voice was gentle, and Harry bit his lip.

"I'm in trouble."

"I don't know about that," Teddy said. He reached a hand out, tried to ignore the way Harry shied away. He cracked his head against the bottom shelf, and Teddy winced in sympathy. "Why don't you come on out and we can talk about it, all right?" He moved, as slowly as he could, and waited for Harry to take his hand.

Harry didn't. "I'm in trouble. A lot," he said again. He sounded almost regretful.

"Not with me," Ted said. And waited.

Harry never took his hand, but he did inch ever so slightly out from under the shelf. Teddy smiled at him. His arm started to ache. "Looks like you got banged up pretty good," Teddy said softly, which caused the boy to clutch his arms even tighter, sealing off the top of his body. Teddy didn't know what to do with his face - should he smile, try and put Harry at ease? He had seldom felt less like smiling. He tried anyway. "Why don't we get you cleaned up and then we'll have a chat, you and me. Did you eat anything before all this?"

Harry shook his head, warily. "He took my ticket," he whispered. Three guesses who'd taken it.

"Well - I've got extras from Easter tea. We'll get your knees sorted out, and anywhere else that's hurt, and we'll have a little snack and we'll talk."

"I din't mean to be bad," Harry said quietly, and Teddy's heart almost broke.

"I know, Harry. Come on. Let's sort all this out, and then I'll talk to Mrs. Harper and set her straight." Teddy reached forward again, and felt his smile grow genuine when Harry put his hand out too.

They left the closet, Teddy's knees giving a twinge as he stood up - he wasn't quite Harry's age anymore. They made their way to Teddy's desk. Harry was limping, not terribly, but enough to make Ted furious at Laura. How could she not insist Harry have medical attention? He got out the first aid kit and positioned Harry on the top of the desk, pulling his chair up so he was eye level with the boy's knees. He opened up the kit, took out the antiseptic, and looked up at Harry.

"Can you roll up your trousers for me, Harry?"

Harry didn't move. He was shaking, Teddy noticed, and his arms were wrapped tight around his chest. His head rested on the top of his arms - he wasn't looking at Teddy anymore. Teddy took a step in and started to gently roll up his trousers. His knees were scraped and bleeding, but nothing too terrible. He dosed a little antiseptic on the gauze and pressed it, gently, to the wound. This, as opposed to any of the comforting things Ted had been saying, made Harry look at him. The boy's face went totally white, and his head shot up. His hands reached for his knees, but stopped midair and gripped his waistband instead.

"I'm sorry," Harry blurted out, urgently. "I'm sorry, please, I really din't mean to." The boy flinched, and his knees twitched. "Please," Harry said, a hitch in his voice.

Teddy frowned. "It's all right, Harry, I believe you, I really do. We'll get you cleaned up and you can explain it all, all right?"

Harry twitched again, twisted himself awkwardly on the desk, and that time there were definitely tears in his voice. "Please stop. I din't mean to be bad, I promise."

Teddy looked up at him, for a moment confused, and when realization hit him he dropped the gauze like he'd been burned. Harry looked utterly terrified.

"I - Harry, I - " Teddy was at a loss. "Harry, I'm not angry with you. You - I'm just trying to help you. If you don't get your cut cleaned up, it can get infected and hurt more. I'm not angry. I just want to help. I promise."

"You were angry this morning. Because our class was bad." The words felt like a blow.

"I - I wasn't angry. I was frustrated. It was wrong of me to yell at you all like that. It was only a few of you being bad. You weren't." A pause. "Here." He pushed the gauze into Harry's hand. "You rub that on your knees, and anywhere else you're hurt, all right? Or else it might get infected. You don't want that, do you?" He waited. Harry mechanically shook his head. "All right. You do that, I'll get you some sticking plasters."

He went to the sink, washed his hands, tried to get his head together. All right. All right. There was something wrong here, more than Laura thought, this wasn't about climbing on buildings, this was something else, this was the journal entries and the bullying from Dudley and the sour aunt and the mean uncle, this was all those things, but he could figure it out, now. He had time, and he wasn't going to just let it go.

When he turned back to Harry, he almost swore. Harry had finished dabbing at his legs, and the scratch on his face looked like it'd gotten the same treatment. He was now applying the gauze, with a tight, squinted look to his face, to his side. He'd hiked up his school shirt and sweater and there was - what was that? A scar, a bruise? A sore, maybe. Teddy didn't know what to do, but realized probably what he shouldn't do was panic. Too late, his head thought as his breathing picked up.

"What's that?" Teddy heard himself say, in a casual voice. Harry dropped his shirt and the gauze and looked at Teddy with an unreadable face. Teddy leaned down and got the gauze, then threw it away. "Did you hurt your side?"

Harry did nothing. Then, very quickly, only once, he nodded.

"Do you need more antiseptic?"

No answer.

Teddy got another piece of gauze, poured some antiseptic on it. Hesitated. Did he want to do this? No. Did he have to? Maybe not technically, but...Before he could change his mind: "Here - I'll hold up your shirt and you can rub that on, all right?"

He thought for a moment that Harry wouldn't do it, and he wasn't quite sure what he should do if he was refused. It would be wrong - and probably an offense worthy of termination - for him to hold down a student and try to see under their clothes. And the nurse didn't like Harry anymore than Anthea or Laura seemed to, and no one else seemed likely to care. After a long moment, though, Harry's hand came out and grabbed the gauze. He lifted his shirt, and Teddy saw.

It was a dog bite. Not a big one, and most of the marks didn't seem to go beyond scratches, there were two nasty looking puncture wounds on either side. Remarkably, they didn't look infected. Harry started to wipe down the area with the gauze. It had to hurt, but Harry didn't make a sound.

After they got him all bandaged up (was that a bruise, lurking off to the side of the dog bite? Harry pulled his shirt down too fast to be sure), Teddy took out his sandwich and offered Harry half, poured him a glass of water, and sat. Harry regarded the sandwich warily. His glasses still didn't look quite right, and it made him seem even more vulnerable.

"Eat up. It's ham."

"It's yours," Harry said. His hands were on his knees, and Teddy could see his fingers twitch.

"I'm still full from Easter." He made a show of patting his stomach. "Go on."

Harry picked up the sandwich and began nibbling it with the air of someone savoring an especially delicious dessert. Teddy tore a quarter off of his sandwich and began eating that.

"What happened today, then, Harry?"

Harry stopped eating - he barely had two bites of the sandwich left as it was - and stared at the sandwich. "Dunno." One of his legs started to kick in a nervous rhythm.

"Mrs. Harper said they found you on the roof." Harry's leg kept kicking, and he started to fidget with the hole in his trouser leg. "Come on, Harry. Talk to me."

"I - it was an accident."

"Oh?"

"I - Gordon was mad because - it was my fault. Because you took his sweets."

"Gordon said this?"

Harry made a tiny shaking motion with his head.

"Dudley?"

A tiny nod. "He - they were chasing me. Like Ripper."

Teddy cast his mind over Harry's previous journal entries. "Ripper is your aunt's dog?"

Harry grimaced. "She's Dudley's aunt. Not mine."

"Did Ripper bite you?"

"They made him chase me up the tree. He got me before I made it all the way up."

"Who made him chase you? Dudley?"

Harry's shoulders tightened, and he shrugged.

"I - I don't like being chased. That's all. I was running and I was just going to hide behind the rubbish bins but then there was a wind or something and I was on the roof but I din't mean to, I swear I din't mean to, please..."

Ted stood up and moved to the other side of the desk. Harry jerked back in his seat, but Ted just kneeled down in front of him and, gently, put a hand over Harry's still fidgeting fingers as they tugged at his trouser.

"I know, Harry. It's all right. I'll sort it out."

And he would. Somehow. He just didn't know how.


End file.
